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  Queensferry at War

A Brief History of the Hawes Inn

1/10/2017

14 Comments

 
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Image:Newhalls Inn. © Queensferry History Group
Formerly known as the Newhalls Inn, this is a ‘B’ listed building with several additions and alterations over the years.  It was certainly renamed the ‘Hawes Inn ‘by 1886. In fact evidence shows that in the book "Duncan's Itinerary of Scotland 1820" it is listed as "The Hawes Inn" then.
​The Hawes Inn, 7 Newhalls Road, South Queensferry, is a late 17th century Coaching Inn, with a date stone on the south east wall which says JS- 1638- BB, taken from the old house, Newhalls (no information on the 'old house' as yet). These initials are believed to be merchant John Smith, and his wife Bessie Bathgate. During the eighteenth-century, the inn was used as a change house for stagecoaches using the Newhalls Ferry and the adjacent ‘Hawes Garage’ used to be the stables and coach-house. 
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Image: Hawes Inn. © Queensferry History Group
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Image: Hawes Garage today.
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The Hawes Inn lies at the east end of Queensferry, almost under the Forth Rail Bridge which was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015 on its 125th anniversary.
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Image: Hawes Inn. © Queensferry History Group
​It has been modernised into a multi-roomed pub but with salvaged furniture and wooden beams creating an 'olde worlde' feel it is oozing rural charm and rustic character. Today the Hawes Inn offers seasonal pub food, cask ales and fine wines. There is a roaring log fire for the winter as well as a pretty beer garden for the summer months It is now part of the ‘Vintage Inns’ collection of pubs. The hotel area, ‘Innkeepers Lodge’ is next door to the pub/restaurant
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Image: Robert Louis Stevenson, Hulton Archive, Getty Images
Robert Louis Stevenson, born in Edinburgh in 13th November 1850,  is said to have been staying in room number 13 in 1886 when he came up with the idea of ‘Kidnapped’ and started writing the novel there. Indeed the Hawes inn features in the story as the place where the kidnapping of the hero, David Balfour, was arranged. There are or were, 4 painted panels of the story's main characters on the principle elevation. The inn also has other literary connections: it is mentioned in Sir Walter Scott's 'Antiquary' and again by Stevenson in 'Memories and Portraits'. 
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Image: Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. Wikipedia
​Proprietors and Tenants
Information of early Proprietors and tenants are difficult to find due to lack of records. We have some information covering 1860's up to 1930's. More recent information is alo hard to come by. As more names and information comes to light, they will be added.
The Proprietor from at least 1860 – 1930, looking at available valuation rolls, was the Earl of Rosebery.
In the 1869 valuation he is named Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery 1847 – 1929, married to Hannah Rothschild who inherited her father’s fortune in 1874 to become the richest woman in Britain. She died of Typhoid at Dalmeny House in 1890 aged 39. Their second son Neil Primrose died from wounds received in action during WW1, in Palestine in 1917, leading his squadron of the 1st Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry in the 3rd Battle of Gaza.
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Image: Abert Edward H. M. A. Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery. Wikipedia
From 1930 onwards the Proprietor would have been the 6th Earl of Rosebery, Albert Edward H.M.A. Primrose. (1882 – 1974)
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Image: Dalmeny House, Photographer-Jonathan Oldenbuck
In the 1930 valuation, Proprietor Rosebery Estates per Major R.F Brebner, The Leuchold, Dalmeny House.(He died of Tuberculosis, a retired Estate Factor in West Peterculter, Aberdeen, in 1952 aged 74, usual address, Dolphington House, Queensferry)
Mr Francis Wilson was tenant from 1860- 1962, according to valuation Rolls, and this included Inn, Stables and Land. Mr Francis Wilson, an innkeeper in Newhalls, died in 1862 aged 44. His wife, Margaret Wilson, took over as Tenant from 1862 - 1870. She died in Edinburgh in 1883 aged 73.
Thomas Wilkie was Tenant in 1875, he died of General Paralysis, in Newhalls, Queensferry in 1877, aged 77. His wife Margaret Wilkie was Tenant from 1876 – 1882. She died of a thrombosis, in Newhalls Inn, in 1883 aged 49. (big age gap).
​
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Image: Parliament Supreme Court of Scotland. Wikipedia
​Robert Lumsden, Accountant and Hotel Keeper, was born in Leith. He was proprietor from 1883 until he died in the Newhalls Hotel in 1919 aged 70.
Robina McLean married Alan Turner, a Solicitor in the Supreme Courts, in 1914, in the Cramond Brig Hotel, while she was Proprietor there. She became Tenant of the Hawes Inn, as Robina Turner, from 1920 until 1930. She died in Barnton in 1941 aged 64.
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image: Cramond Brig Hotel, now Miller & Carter Steakhouse.
The Hawes Inn was owned/leased by the Usher Vaux Group around the late 60's and early 70's along with the Allegro, Daniel Browns and the Hunters Tryst.
We hope to be able to add to this feature as more information comes to light.
© Queensferry History Group 2017
14 Comments
susan whiteford link
27/2/2018 12:26:42 pm

wow what a facinating read ah never knew so much history involving the old hawes inn ah mean its been around fer years am really interested in the old history of the ferry n how it used to look so am intrigued to learn more

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Edith Robson
13/7/2018 07:26:52 pm

Great site. I would like to know the derivation of Hawes. Might the name be derived from the Old Norse word hals, meaning "neck" or "pass between mountains"?
I am originally from Burntisland and was here last weekend as part of an outing to Inch Colm. We live in Kent so it is difficult to find things out unless on line.

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jimmy the bush link
15/12/2018 02:30:27 am

methinks " Hawes " could mean the red fruit o the hawthorn or may tree ,ner cast a clout till may be oot ,the tree in blossom and not the month,just a theory!!

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Winifred Wilson
21/1/2019 07:28:47 pm

Very interesting, but need to correct the age of the Bridge in 2015, which was 125, not 150!

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James Taynton
21/2/2019 05:20:24 pm

My grandparents Mr George Taynton & Mrs Margaret Taynton were proprieters of this place during the 1940s.

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Cary Achuff link
17/8/2019 05:58:25 pm

Fascinating historical write-up. My husband and I lived in Edinburgh for a year 1974-75 while he was working at the Royal Infirmary. We ate at the Hawes Inn sometime during that year. We have been back three times since and plan to return next month. Love the place (and the City)

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Thompson
24/8/2019 08:11:31 pm

May the 'Hawes' come from the original name? Newhalls (pronounced locally as "Newhawes") the 'New' being dropped at a later date to 'halls inn - 'hawes inn".

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norma brown
28/12/2019 03:17:54 pm

Correct, as verified by Lady Rosebery. The Roseberys own the house New Gardens on Newhalls Road. This house was originally called the 'New Halls', hence the street name Newhalls Road, and yes when once called the Newhalls Inn, through time, came to be the Hawes Inn.

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Jon Grieves
29/10/2019 04:29:17 pm

This was my home and workplace in the 1990's. I lived above the hotel entrance in the attics and the rooms had not been touched in decades. Every morning I would hear the Aberdeen to London train trundle above and get to have my morning tea sitting on the wall opposite with the smell of the sea.
Wonderful memories but recently I popped in and found that Vintage Inns have gutted the place and built poor rooms in the old amazing reception rooms. I am sure even the old room 13 where RLS wrote (and where David is taken from) has been ghosted over to make way for en suite rooms.
Tragedy to Scottish history and this is from an Englishman.

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Umberto
4/2/2022 07:12:04 am

I too used to work and live in just upstairs i a small tiny room early 1974. Matter of fact, I was a chef de rang and the restaurant used to have top class menù with a lot of fancy dishes and flambes some of wich Iused to performance in front of clients. Pity they changed everything to keep pace with modernity and from the pictures I see it became sort of bistrot, no table clothe, no waiter with bowtie and so on... So sad

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Colm O'Kane
29/4/2020 04:57:45 pm

In the late 90's a colleague and I were on a six week training course in Pitreavie, staying at the County Hotel (since flattened) that was to the west. We found the Hawes Inn by accident. The atmosphere, beer and food were all spot on. We were made welcome and even joined in the Tuesday quiz, we were named by the locals as the 'sassenachs'. we being English and all that. Visited several times a week I loved the place. It did have some passages of JLS' Kidnapped painted in script on some of the walls and did have that 'Olde' ambiance. I do hope that as Jon Grieves above has mentioned, Vintage Inns have not ruined the place. Although experience of similar pubs suggest they may have done just that. What they could not do, is mess up it's position, the bridge, the river...well worth a visit again.

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Ian Stewart-Koster link
4/5/2020 03:41:40 pm

HI, thanks for the history of the proprietors.
Our family history and legend (oral) was that the IJ or JS and BB 1638 were John Stewart (not Smith) and Bessie Bathgate, formerly of Stewarts of Craigiehall lineage, which was sold, and they build Newhalls, and Hawes Inn - Hawes being a corruption of Newhalls.
Newhalls was so-named, being the 'new' hall after the family could no longer continue Craigiehall (the 'old' hall), due to financial mismanagment, so sold the place.
There is more I can add if you are interested.
However we have scant proof, just family legend with tenacious links here and there.

My wife and I enjoyed a lovely lunch there in June 2013.

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Brian Cumiskey
28/7/2021 07:01:26 pm

My wife and spent many nights there in 1966/67 when we first met,and loved the place.We have been married for 52 years and visited last week,just mainly a big eating place with no atmosphere so sad.Still love South Queensferry.

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Jon Grieves
29/7/2021 09:53:57 am

Totally agree with Brian. Alloa Breweries had a piece of history which as Robert Louis Stevenson described it sitting in a climate of its own.
They could've done minor developments to enhance this historical master piece but instead decided to pull its heart out to cash in on the fair weather visitors. I bet on those wonderful stormy nights when the fires glowed and the Fourth lashed the windows it feels empty and cold.
Back in the day the village would make their way down to sit at what was the longest bar ever made and share stories about the dangers of working on the bridges.

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